Graphical certifications of online advertisements intended to impact click-through rates

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are directed towards improving a user&#39;s experience and confidence in advertisements shown within web pages or other online media, in part, by providing additional information for a given advertisement to be displayed along with the given advertisement to encourage, or discourage, a user to click on or interact with the advertisement. Such information to be displayed about a given advertisement may include, without limitation, information about the advertisement, such as its security status (e.g. it has been found to be free from malware), information about the advertiser, including if the advertiser is determined to be trusted based on some criteria, customer satisfaction information, information about the goods and/or services being advertised, including, for example, if how they compare to a competitor, and information about the destination Web page or Web site that the advertisement leads to when a user clicks it.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to computing security and to auser's online advertisement experience, and more particularly, but notexclusively, to providing certificates for display with onlineadvertisements, where in at least one embodiment the certifiedadvertisement is directed to impact click-through rates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of online advertising is both well-known and well-studied. Ingeneral, there are three primary types of online advertisements: banneradvertisements, search result advertisements, and contextualadvertisements, all of which appear on various web pages and otheronline locations on the Internet. Advertisements play a major economicrole on the Web, and advertisers may pay for advertisements based onmeasures such as number of views or “impressions,” numbers ofclick-throughs received, or numbers of products sold or customerscontacted as a result of ads. Advertisers thus often have an economicincentive to increase the interest in their ads, the number ofclick-throughs that their ads receive, and the ultimate conversion ofthese click-throughs into some kind of event or transaction valuable toadvertisers.

Today, Internet advertisements are displayed in a web page or otheronline locations with little or no additional information about theadvertiser, advertisement, or good or service that is being advertised.This can leave the viewer of the advertisement with limited informationand a number of questions about the advertisement or good or servicethat is being advertised.

For example, viewers of online advertisements do not know if anadvertisement or the destination Web page or Web site that it leads toare trustworthy. For example, the ad itself or the destination landingpage or site may contain dangerous software such as malware, which mayperform undesired and/or unauthorized acts; it may have been hacked, ordeliver unwanted “drive-by” exploits; it may contain misleading orfraudulent information or may take steps to compromise a user's privacy,and so on. As another example, the viewer has no indication of howuseful other viewers found the advertisement. The viewers also may notknow a reputation and historical performance of a specific advertiser orcompany, or how advertised products or services compare to those of thecompetition. The viewer may further not be aware of a size, location,age, maturity, etc. of the business that is advertising a good orservice.

In the particular case of malware, online advertisements, as well as thedestination websites that these advertisements direct viewers to, can beinfected with software that performs malicious and/or other undesiredacts without the knowledge or permission of the viewer. As the publicbecomes more and more aware of this danger, the need for additionalinformation about an advertisement, the advertiser or the good and/orservice that is being advertised grows. There appears therefore to becurrently no convenient mechanism that provides additional informationfrom a third party about online advertisements and/or destinationwebsites.

Furthermore, current viewers of online advertisements appear to have nomeans of gaining additional information about a particularadvertisement, the advertiser, and/or the good and/or service beingadvertised. The viewer typically must rely on the advertisement alonewhen making a decision as to whether to click on the advertisement ornot. This can have negative effects on the effectiveness of theadvertisements, in particular in the click-through rates of thoseadvertisements. By comparison, a user who can verify that anadvertisement, an advertiser, a good or service, or a destination Webpage or Web site are in fact trustworthy or more positive due to someother characteristic may be more likely to click on that ad, an actionto the benefit of the advertiser. Therefore, it is with respect to theseconsiderations and others that the present invention has been made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings,like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the variousfigures unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will bemade to the following Detailed Descriptions, which is to be read inassociation with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a typical web page illustratedwithin a browser for a client device that includes an advertisement;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of an operating environment in which aweb page that includes an advertisement and one possible embodiment of agraphic displayed within a browser of a client device (e.g., here thegraphic illustrates that the advertisement is safe as having beenchecked for possible malware);

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of an operating environment in which aweb page that includes an advertisement and one possible embodiment of agraphic displayed within a browser of a client device (e.g., here thegraphic illustrates that the advertiser associated with theadvertisement has a star rating or 5 indicated as one embodiment forindicating the advertiser's trust as a vendor);

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a possible flow diagram useable forproducing for display on web page an advertisement modified with areview and/or certificate;

FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of a client device that may be included in asystem implementing various embodiments; and

FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of a network device that may be included ina system implementing various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments bywhich the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as methods ordevices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The followingdetailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take themeanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein doesnot necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. As usedherein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator, and is equivalentto the term “and/or,” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Theterm “based on” is not exclusive and allows for being based onadditional factors not described, unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. In addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of“a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references. The meaning of “in”includes “in” and “on.”

Briefly, the present invention is directed towards enabling advertisers,publishers and other stakeholders to impact the click-through rateassociated with a particular advertisement by including additionalinformation such as a certificate and/or graphics within, next to,partially on, or over these advertisements, or otherwise accessible toan interested viewer (for example by hovering or clicking a mouse), toindicate a level of trust, and/or other information useable to increasea user's confidence towards clicking on the advertisement.

As used herein the term “certificate,” refers to any document or fileused to affirm some fact. A certificate as used herein is independent ofa form or format in which the affirmation of the fact is madeaccessible. Thus, for example, a certificate may be made accessible as agraphic image, a text file, an audio clip, a video clip, and/or anycombination of these forms or formats. While, in computing technologies,a certificate sometimes refers to a digital identity file, the term asused herein does not preclude such form or format in which the factbeing affirmed may be embodied. It may be recognized, however, that adigital certificate, such as may be employed with digital signatures,may be employed to detect whether the contents of the certificate usedto affirm the fact have been modified. Moreover, a certificate mayaffirm virtually any fact, including, without limit, an event, asatisfaction of a test, an audit, a review, an opinion, or the like.Thus, the additional information about online advertisements can providea viewer with a variety of different information types including but notlimited to richer information about the advertiser and/or theadvertisers' goods and/or services to help the user make a more informedopinion about whether or not to click the advertisement. For example, inone embodiment, the additional information may provide a reason why theadvertiser should be trusted, or should not be trusted. Such additionalinformation may be intended to encourage viewers to click on theadvertisement.

The additional information about online advertisements can be providedfrom an advertiser's or advertiser networks' servers and/or deliverynetwork, from publishers' servers and/or delivery network, or from thirdparty servers and/or delivery network.

The additional information about online advertisements can also beprovided within, next to, partially on, or over, the onlineadvertisements. The information may appear constantly; may appear for alimited period of time; may appear in response to user actions such ashovering a mouse over the ad, right-clicking the ad, or selecting asetting in a Web browser; or any combination of the preceding. Moreover,the additional information about online advertisements may be unique fora given advertisement or may cover a set of advertisements.

Where the additional information comes from an advertiser's oradvertisers network's servers, one embodiment is that the advertiser oradvertiser's network simply provides advertisements to the publisherthat include an additional certificate that provide additionalinformation about the core advertisement. This information may beembedded in the graphical ad image itself, in a third-party playertechnology such as a Macromedia Flash file, or in the HTML, programcode, script, or other markup language that causes the browser todisplay the ad. In one embodiment, this additional information may becrafted to communicate or suggest that the additional information withinthe additional subsection is from a party independent of the advertiser.In the case of the additional information being delivered by anadvertisers' delivery mechanism, an advertiser might elect to have itsadvertisement and/or web pages and/or goods and/or services reviewed bya reviewing party. The reviewing process might, in one embodiment,include tests including but not limited to tests to make sure theadvertisement itself and/or web pages it links to are free of malware ormalicious or deceptive content, as well as complies with variousperformance and/or user tests for the advertised goods or servicesand/or user reviews. Tests could be performed one time or multipletimes, and in the case of multiple times they could be scheduled,unscheduled, or a mix of scheduled and unscheduled. In one embodiment,the tests and/or other audit activities may be based on a standard, acontractual policy, rule, or the like. For example, the reviewer mightestablish a set of criteria upon which the advertisement, web pages,goods, services, or the like, is expected to comply. In one non-limitingexample, the criteria might require that the advertiser be have aparticular ranking by the Better Business Bureau or other agency. Inanother non-limiting example, the audit might include performingconsumer surveys, where the advertiser is expected to obtain a rating bythe consumers above a particular threshold. The invention, however, isnot limited to these examples, and any of a variety of other auditand/or test criteria may also be used.

Where a result of the review is determined to be unsatisfactory, thereviewer might provide a set of actions, and/or other criteria to betaken or otherwise satisfied in order to obtain a certificate from thereviewer.

Once provided with a satisfactory review and/or certificate as a resultof the review process, as well as a contract that allows the advertiserto use information from the review and/or the certificate from thereview, the advertiser could then appropriately modify theiradvertisement to display this review and/or review summary and/orcertificate and then simply distribute this updated advertisement viatheir normal advertising channels. This modification of theiradvertisement could take the form of a visible graphical or textmodification (e.g. a visible rating number or certificate “stamp”) or asemi-visible modification (such as a watermark) or an invisibletechnical modification (e.g. a script) or a combination of these or moremethods.

Various approaches could be used to combat fraud, such as, for example,a specific digital signature could be placed on an advertisement to bematched with a specific script to be run on a visible modification ofthe advertisement (e.g. a certificate stamp or icon) so that the visiblemodification of the advertisement would clearly illustrate if it wereproperly matched with the correct advertisement (e.g. the certificatestamp or icon would only show properly if it were properly matched witha specific advertisement). Moreover, in one embodiment, the certificatestamp, icon, or other information may be bound to the advertisementusing virtually any mechanism that is configured and arranged to detecta change in the information and/or the advertisement. For example, inone embodiment, a digital signature may be employed. In one embodiment amechanism might be implemented such as, but not limited to a codemonitor, script, applet, or the like, that monitors changes to thedigitally signed content, such that if a change is detected, anotification may be automatically sent. For example, in one embodiment,an initial hash obtained from the digital signature when theadvertisement (and/or additional information) is first signed might becompared to hashes obtained at various times. Differences in the hasheswould indicate that the advertisement (and/or additional information)has been changed. In one embodiment, a notification of the change may bemade available to a viewer of the advertisement and/or additionalinformation. In another embodiment, information about the detectedchange might be provided to a reviewer, the advertiser, or the like.

In one embodiment, where the advertisement is configured as a rotatingbanner advertisement, or employs a similar technique using dynamiccontent, a digital signature might be applied to a script, application,or other source of the dynamic content. For example, in one embodiment,if the dynamic content is provided through an animated gif or othersimilar mechanism, then the animated gif might be digitally signed.Similarly, if the dynamic content is provided through a self-containedapplet, script, or the like, digitally signing the self-contained entitymay be useable to identify unauthorized changes to the content. Wherethe dynamic content is accessed from a file, or the like, the script andthe accessed file may be digitally signed (in one embodiment,separately) to monitor for unauthorized changes. Similarly, theinformation provided by a certificate or other mechanism and isassociated with a graphic displayed with the advertisement may also bedigitally signed.

In one embodiment, the reviewer might perform the binding. In anotherembodiment, the advertiser might digitally sign the advertisement and/orother information.

If the review and/or certificate information needed to updated ordeleted, for example either as the result of an updated review or theresult of a service contract term expiring, the reviewing party couldsimply notify the advertiser and contractually obligate them to updatetheir advertisement. In one embodiment, reviews may be conductedautomatically to determine if the additional information, advertisement,and/or other characteristics have changed such that the certificateinformation is determined not to be correct. For example, if anadvertiser has indicated that they are a five star establishment, but,opinion polls, surveys, business reports, consumers, or the like,indicate that the advertise should no longer be rated as a five starestablishment, then the reviewing party might notify the advertiser of aneed to change the information displayed.

It is recognized that some Internet browser plug-in services exist thatdisplay additional information about hyperlinks on a webpage by placingicons next to a hyperlink or by creating a hover-over graphic. However,these browser plug-ins often may require a user to explicitly choose todownload additional software to his or her computer to enable viewingthe additional information. These plug-ins have significantdisadvantages in that a publisher and advertiser have little or nocontrol over whether or not a given user can see this additionalinformation or is even using the plug-in, and, in the case when a useris using one or more of these plug-ins, a publisher and advertiser cannot control the content of the additional information provided. Afurther disadvantage of these services is that they may not serveinformation about rotating banner advertisements. These services also donot offer the an advertiser an opportunity to ensure that his specificads are annotated with additional information, thus differentiating hisads from competitors without the annotations and, the advertiser hopes,increasing click-through rates.

However, the present invention provides numerous advantages overtraditional approaches. By placing additional information about anadvertisement next to the advertisement, such as a graphic thatillustrates that the advertisement is free from malware, or a graphicthat illustrates that the advertiser is trusted by a third party, userscan be encouraged to click on these advertisements. The impact onclick-through rates may be achieved by providing independent orapparently independent third-party additional information about aparticular advertiser or advertised good or service. The additionalinformation may further motivate specific behavior of the viewer,allowing the advertiser, publisher, or other stakeholder to affectclick-through rates.

There are multiple types of information that can be useful to viewerswhen making a decision as to whether or not to click on an onlineadvertisement. Information may include but is not limited to:

-   -   Technical safety of advertisement and destination page or site    -   Trustworthy nature of advertised company, good or service    -   Customer satisfaction rankings    -   Information about where advertising business is located, when it        was established and other pertinent information about the        business    -   Other certificates (e.g. Better Business Bureau)    -   Types of payment that are accepted    -   Competitive standing in marketplace    -   Preferred vendor status

There are multiple graphical marks that may be used to convey specificinformation, rankings, or rating associated with a specificadvertisement and/or company that are advertising a specific good orservice. These marks may include but are not limited to:

-   -   Check mark    -   Stars    -   Text    -   “x” mark    -   Animated graphic    -   Thumbs-up/thumbs down graphic    -   Circles    -   Colored circles    -   Boxes    -   Colored boxes    -   Pop-up dialog boxes or menus that appear when moving a mouse        near or over the advertisement    -   Audio, video, or other multimedia files

Thus, embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing theviewer with more information to make well-informed decisions. Webpageowners and/or advertisers and/or publishers can use their ability toprovide this information to encourage modification of viewer behaviorand the associated click-through rates. Overall impacts to thebusinesses that purchase or display this additional information mayinclude but are not limited to:

-   -   Increases in revenue associated with increased click-through        rates    -   Enhanced trust and effectiveness of the advertising system    -   Enhanced viewer affinity    -   Increased recognition and accolade from industry    -   More efficient, safer means of delivering information

Illustrative Environment

FIG. 1 shows components of one embodiment of an environment in which theinvention may be practiced. Not all the components may be required topractice the invention, and variations in the arrangement and type ofthe components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. As shown in FIG. 1 is a typical web page 10 that isdisplaying an online banner advertisement 20 within a browser 90. Aviewer employing client device 80 views the web page 10 within anInternet browser 90 and sees content provided via a website contentserver 50 as well as a display advertisement 20 displayed within the webpage 10 that is provided via an advertisement server 60.

Generally, browser 90 may be hosted within any of a variety of clientdevices, such as client device 80, that may include virtually any mobileor non-mobile computing device capable of receiving and sending amessage over a network, such as wireless network, or the like. Suchdevices include portable devices such as, cellular telephones, smartphones, display pagers, radio frequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR)devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptopcomputers, wearable computers, tablet computers, integrated devicescombining one or more of the preceding devices, or the like. The clientdevice 80 may also include virtually any computing device that typicallyconnects using a wired communications medium such as personal computers,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, or the like. In one embodiment, possibleclient devices may be configured to operate over a wired and/or awireless network.

Moreover, the client device 80 typically ranges widely in terms ofcapabilities and features. For example, a cell phone may have a numerickeypad and a few lines of monochrome LCD display on which only text maybe displayed. In another example, a web-enabled client device may have atouch sensitive screen, a stylus, and several lines of color LCD displayin which both text and graphics may be displayed. One embodiment of acomputing device that may be used as client device 80 is described inmore detail below in conjunction with FIG. 5.

A web-enabled client device 80 may include a browser 90 that isconfigured to receive and to send web pages, web-based messages, or thelike, such as is illustrated in FIG. 1. The browser 90 may be configuredto receive and display graphics, text, multimedia, or the like,employing virtually any web-based language, including a wirelessapplication protocol messages (WAP), or the like. In one embodiment, thebrowser application is enabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language(HDML), Wireless Markup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, StandardGeneralized Markup Language (SMGL), HyperText Markup Language (HTML),eXtensible Markup Language (XML), or the like, to display and send amessage.

A wireless network may be configured to couple at least one possibleclient device 80 to servers 50 and 60. The wireless network may includeany of a variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlaystand-alone ad-hoc networks, or the like, to provide aninfrastructure-oriented connection for the client device. Suchsub-networks may include mesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks,cellular networks, or the like.

The wireless network may further include an autonomous system ofterminals, gateways, routers, or the like connected by wireless radiolinks, or the like. These connectors may be configured to move freelyand randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topologyof the wireless network may change rapidly.

The wireless network may further employ a plurality of accesstechnologies including 2nd (2G), 3rd (3G) generation radio access forcellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, or the like. Accesstechnologies such as 2G, 3G, and future access networks may enable widearea coverage for client devices with various degrees of mobility. Forexample, the wireless network may enable a radio connection through aradio network access such as Global System for Mobile communication(GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSMEnvironment (EDGE), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA),Bluetooth, or the like. In essence, the wireless network may includevirtually any wireless communication mechanism by which information maytravel between client devices and another computing device, network, orthe like.

In another embodiment, the available network that may be configured toenable servers 50 and 60 to communicate with the client devices and mayemploy any form of computer readable media for communicating informationfrom one electronic device to another. Also, the network can include theInternet in addition to local area networks (LANs), wide area networks(WANs), direct connections, such as through a universal serial bus (USB)port, other forms of computer-readable media, or any combinationthereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, including those based ondiffering architectures and protocols, a router acts as a link betweenLANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another. Also,communication links within LANs typically include twisted wire pair orcoaxial cable, while communication links between networks may utilizeanalog telephone lines, full or fractional dedicated digital linesincluding T1, T2, T3, and T4, Integrated Services Digital Networks(ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), wireless links includingsatellite links, or other communications links known to those skilled inthe art. Furthermore, remote computers and other related electronicdevices could be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modemand temporary telephone link.

Additionally, communication media typically embodies computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave, data signal, or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterms “modulated data signal,” and “carrier-wave signal” includes asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information, instructions, data, or the like,in the signal. By way of example, communication media includes wiredmedia such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, wave guides,and other wired media and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared,and other wireless media.

Content server 50 may be virtually any network device configured andarranged to provide content to a client device, where the contentincludes virtually any information, in virtually any format that may becommunicated over a network. For example, the information may includeadvertisements, such as advertisement 20 that may be displayed within aweb page. In one embodiment, the advertisement may be provided byadvertisement server 60 to content server 50 for inclusion into the webpage 10. In another embodiment, the web page 10 may include a script,link, reference, or the like, to advertisement 20 that is hosted andaccessible through advertisement server 60. Access to advertisement 20for display at web page 10 is not limited to these approaches, andvirtually any mechanism may be employed.

In any event, devices that may operate as servers 50 and/or 60 includepersonal computers, desktop computers, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,servers, or the like. One embodiment of a network device useable asservers 50 and/or 60 is described in more detail below in conjunctionwith FIG. 6.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of an operating environment in which aweb page that includes an advertisement and one possible embodiment of agraphic displayed within a browser of a client device (e.g., here thegraphic illustrates that the advertisement is safe as having beenchecked for possible malware). Not all the components may be required topractice the invention, and variations in the arrangement and type ofthe components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. However, as shown, FIG. 2 includes a web page 15 similarto that which was described in FIG. 1, with content served by a contentserver 55 and a display advertisement 25 served by an advertisementserver 65.

However, also shown is one embodiment of an additional graphic 35 thatis displayed next to the display advertisement 25 giving the viewerusing client device 80, using the browser 90, additional informationabout the webpage advertisement 25. It should be noted that theinformation illustrated within graphic 35 may include other and/ordifferent information that shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the invention is notlimited by this example, and clearly, others forms, content, and evenplacement of graphic 35 are envisaged. Graphic 35 (and additionalgraphic 37 in FIG. 3) represent non-limiting, non-exhaustive embodimentsof certificates.

However, in this particular non-exhaustive example, the additionalinformation shown in the additional graphic 35 is about theadvertisement 25 is directed towards indicating whether theadvertisement is a safe advertisement (e.g. the advertisement has beenchecked for malware and found to be malware free, and/or other possiblesecurity concerns). In this example, the additional graphic 35 may beserved by an additional graphic server 75. However, the invention is notso limited, and in another embodiment, the graphic 35 may be provided toserver 55 and/or 65 from graphic server 75 for inclusion within web page15.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of an operating environment in which aweb page that includes an advertisement and one possible embodiment of agraphic displayed within a browser of a client device (e.g., here thegraphic illustrates that the advertiser associated with theadvertisement has a star rating of 5 indicated as one embodiment forindicating the advertiser's trust as a vendor).

As further shown in FIG. 3 is a web page 17 similar to that which wasdescribed in FIG. 1, with content served by a content server 57 and adisplay advertisement 27 served by an advertisement server 67. Anadditional graphic 37 is displayed next to the display advertisement 27giving the viewer using client device 80, using the browser 90,additional information about the webpage advertisement 27. In thisparticular example, the additional information in the additional graphic37 is about the advertisement 27 being from a “5 star vendor.” Forexample, the advertisement is from a recommended vendor. In thisexample, the additional graphic 37 is served by an additional graphicserver 77. However, the invention is not so limited, and the additionalgraphic 37 may also be served by other servers, including, but notlimited to content server 57, and/or advertisement server 67.

Moreover, as stated elsewhere, graphic 37 might remain hidden on the webpage 17 until a user performs some action, including, but not limited tohovering a mouse over advertisement 27 for some defined time period,right-clicking on advertisement 27, or the like. In another embodiment,graphic 37 might appear constantly in association with advertisement 27.

In each of the non-exhaustive examples above, the additional informationmay be bound to the advertisement using any of a variety of mechanismssuch that when a change is made to the additional information and/or theadvertisement it may be readily detected. For example, the additionalinformation and/or the advertisement may be individually and/orcollectively digitally signed such that a modification to theinformation and/or advertisement might corrupt the digital signature.Other mechanisms may also be employed without narrowing the scope of theinvention. In any event, the binding of the additional information andadvertisement may enable modifications to be detected and to furthernotify a reviewer, an administrator, or the like. In one embodiment, aviewer of the additional information might be enabled to click on theadditional information to confirm whether the advertisement is stillvalid, unmodified, or the like. Thus, additional information notnecessarily shown within the graphic may be readily provided to theviewer, including whether the additional information and/oradvertisement have been modified since it was last reviewed, and/orapproved.

Illustrative Client Device

FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of client device 500 that may be included ina system implementing the invention. Client device 500 may include manymore or less components than those shown in FIG. 5. However, thecomponents shown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodimentfor practicing the present invention. Client device 500 may represent,for example, one embodiment of client device 80 of FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, client device 500 includes a processing unit(CPU) 522 in communication with a mass memory 530 via a bus 524. Clientdevice 500 also includes a power supply 526, one or more networkinterfaces 550, an audio interface 552, a display 554, a keypad 556, anilluminator 558, an input/output interface 560, a haptic interface 562,and an optional global positioning systems (GPS) receiver 564. Powersupply 526 provides power to client device 500. A rechargeable ornon-rechargeable battery may be used to provide power. The power mayalso be provided by an external power source, such as an AC adapter or apowered docking cradle that supplements and/or recharges a battery.

Client device 500 may optionally communicate with a base station (notshown), or directly with another computing device. Network interface 550includes circuitry for coupling client device 500 to one or morenetworks, and is constructed for use with one or more communicationprotocols and technologies including, but not limited to, global systemfor mobile communication (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), user datagram protocol (UDP),transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), SMS, generalpacket radio service (GPRS), WAP, ultra wide band (UWB), IEEE 802.16Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), SIP/RTP, or anyof a variety of other wireless communication protocols. Networkinterface 550 is sometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving device,or network interface card (NIC).

Audio interface 552 is arranged to produce and receive audio signalssuch as the sound of a human voice. For example, audio interface 552 maybe coupled to a speaker and microphone (not shown) to enabletelecommunication with others and/or generate an audio acknowledgementfor some action. Display 554 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gasplasma, light emitting diode (LED), or any other type of display usedwith a computing device. Display 554 may also include a touch sensitivescreen arranged to receive input from an object such as a stylus or adigit from a human hand.

Keypad 556 may comprise any input device arranged to receive input froma user. For example, keypad 556 may include a push button numeric dial,or a keyboard. Keypad 556 may also include command buttons that areassociated with selecting and sending images. Illuminator 558 mayprovide a status indication and/or provide light. Illuminator 558 mayremain active for specific periods of time or in response to events. Forexample, when illuminator 558 is active, it may backlight the buttons onkeypad 556 and stay on while the client device is powered. Also,illuminator 558 may backlight these buttons in various patterns whenparticular actions are performed, such as dialing another client device.Illuminator 558 may also cause light sources positioned within atransparent or translucent case of the client device to illuminate inresponse to actions.

Client device 500 also comprises input/output interface 560 forcommunicating with external devices, such as a headset, or other inputor output devices not shown in FIG. 5. Input/output interface 560 canutilize one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared,Bluetooth™, or the like. Haptic interface 562 is arranged to providetactile feedback to a user of the client device. For example, the hapticinterface may be employed to vibrate client device 500 in a particularway when another user of a computing device is calling.

Optional GPS transceiver 564 can determine the physical coordinates ofclient device 500 on the surface of the Earth, which typically outputs alocation as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 564 can alsoemploy other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to,triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or thelike, to further determine the physical location of client device 500 onthe surface of the Earth. It is understood that under differentconditions, GPS transceiver 564 can determine a physical location withinmillimeters for client device 500; and in other cases, the determinedphysical location may be less precise, such as within a meter orsignificantly greater distances. In one embodiment, however, clientdevice 500 may through other components, provide other information thatmay be employed to determine a physical location of the device,including for example, a MAC address, IP address, or the like.

Mass memory 530 includes a RAM 532, a ROM 534, and other storage means.Mass memory 530 illustrates another example of computer readable storagemedia for storage of information such as computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules, or other data. Mass memory 530 storesa basic input/output system (“BIOS”) 540 for controlling low-leveloperation of client device 500. The mass memory also stores an operatingsystem 541 for controlling the operation of client device 500. It willbe appreciated that this component may include a general purposeoperating system such as a version of UNIX, or LINUX™, or a specializedclient communication operating system such as, for example, WindowsMobile™, or the Symbian® operating system. The operating system mayinclude, or interface with a Java virtual machine module that enablescontrol of hardware components and/or operating system operations viaJava application programs.

Memory 530 further includes one or more data storage 544, which can beutilized by client device 500 to store, among other things, applications542 and/or other data. For example, data storage 544 may also beemployed to store information that describes various capabilities ofclient device 500. The information may then be provided to anotherdevice based on any of a variety of events, including being sent as partof a header during a communication, sent upon request, or the like.Moreover, data storage 544 may also be employed to store informationincluding address books, buddy lists, aliases, pictures, user profileinformation, or the like. At least a portion of the information may alsobe stored on a disk drive or other storage medium (not shown) withinclient device 500.

Applications 542 may include computer executable instructions which,when executed by client device 500, transmit, receive, and/or otherwiseprocess messages (e.g., SMS, MMS, IM, email, and/or other messages),audio, video, and enable telecommunication with another user of anotherclient device. Other examples of application programs include calendars,search programs, email clients, IM applications, SMS applications, VOIPapplications, contact managers, task managers, transcoders, databaseprograms, word processing programs, security applications, spreadsheetprograms, games, search programs, and so forth. Applications 542 mayinclude, for example, messenger 543, and browser 545.

Browser 545 may include virtually any application configured to receiveand display graphics, text, multimedia, and the like, employingvirtually any web based language. In one embodiment, the browserapplication is enabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML),Wireless Markup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, StandardGeneralized Markup Language (SMGL), HyperText Markup Language (HTML),eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and the like, to display and send amessage. However, any of a variety of other web-based languages may beemployed.

Messenger 543 may be configured to initiate and manage a messagingsession using any of a variety of messaging communications including,but not limited to email, Short Message Service (SMS), Instant Message(IM), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), internet relay chat (IRC), mIRC,RSS feeds, and/or the like. For example, in one embodiment, messenger543 may be configured as an IM messaging application, such as AOLInstant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, .NET Messenger Server, ICQ, or thelike. In another embodiment, messenger 543 may be a client applicationthat is configured to integrate and employ a variety of messagingprotocols. In one embodiment, messenger 543 may interact with browser545 for managing messages.

Illustrative Network Device

FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of a network device 600, according to oneembodiment of the invention. Network device 600 may include many more orless components than those shown. The components shown, however, aresufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing theinvention. Network device 600 may represent, for example, any one ormore of content servers 50, 55, and 57; graphic servers 75 and 77;and/or advertisement servers 60, 65, and 67.

Network device 600 includes processing unit 612, video display adapter614, and a mass memory, all in communication with each other via bus622. The mass memory generally includes RAM 616, ROM 632, and one ormore permanent mass storage devices, such as hard disk drive 628, tapedrive, optical drive, and/or floppy disk drive. The mass memory storesoperating system 620 for controlling the operation of network device600. Any general-purpose operating system may be employed. Basicinput/output system (“BIOS”) 618 is also provided for controlling thelow-level operation of network device 600. As illustrated in FIG. 6,network device 600 also can communicate with the Internet, or some othercommunications network, via network interface unit 610, which isconstructed for use with various communication protocols including theTCP/IP protocol. Network interface unit 610 is sometimes known as atransceiver, transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC).

The mass memory as described above illustrates another type ofcomputer-readable media, namely computer-readable storage media.Computer-readable storage media may include volatile, nonvolatile,removable, and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Examplesof computer readable storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by a computing device.

As shown, data stores 652 may include a database, text, spreadsheet,folder, file, or the like, that may be configured to maintain andcertificates, graphics, graphical markings, templates, advertisements,web pages, or the like. In one embodiment, at least some of data store652 might also be stored on another component of network device 600,including, but not limited to cd-rom/dvd-rom 626, hard disk drive 628,or the like.

The mass memory also stores program code and data. One or moreapplications 650 are loaded into mass memory and run on operating system620. Examples of application programs may include transcoders,schedulers, calendars, database programs, word processing programs, HTTPprograms, customizable user interface programs, IPSec applications,encryption programs, security programs, SMS message servers, IM messageservers, email servers, account managers, and so forth. Web server 657,advertisement service manager (ASM) 655, and Online Certificate Manager(OCM) 656 may also be included as application programs withinapplications 650. It should be noted, that while ASM 655 and OCM 656 areillustrated within a single network device, the invention is not solimited. Thus, in another embodiment, OCM 656 might be implementedwithin graphic servers 75 and 77 of FIGS. 2-3, respectively, while ASM655 might be implemented within Advertisement servers 65 and 67 of FIGS.2-3, respectively. However, as illustrated, ASM 655 and OCM 656 might beimplemented in a single network device, such as Advertisement server 60of FIG. 1.

Web server 657 represent any of a variety of services that areconfigured to provide content, including messages, over a network toanother computing device. Thus, web server 657 includes for example, aweb server, a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, a database server, acontent server, or the like. Web server 657 may provide the contentincluding messages over the network using any of a variety of formats,including, but not limited to WAP, HDML, WML, SMGL, HTML, XML, cHTML,xHTML, or the like. In one embodiment, web server 657 may be configuredto enable a user to access and manage messages through messaging server656.

ASM 655 is configured to manage creation, and/or providing ofadvertisements for display within a web page, such as are illustrated inFIGS. 1-3. ASM 655 may, in one embodiment, provide various tools toenable a creation and/or modification of one or more advertisements.However, in another embodiment, an advertisement might be providedthrough another network device and managed through ASM 655.

In one embodiment, ASM 655 might further provide an online storeinterface that may be accessible upon a user selection of anadvertisement. For example, if a user clicks on an advertisement withina web page, the advertisement might redirect the user to one or more webpages that are associated with an advertiser. Thus, in one embodimentASM 655 might provide the merchant's web pages, and/or other toolsuseable to manage a user's selection of an advertised product and/orservice. In one embodiment, ASM 655 may store one or more web pages,advertisements, or the like, within data stores 652.

OCM 656 is configured to provide various certification functions,graphics, and/or other actions, usable to provide one or more graphicsfor display with an advertisement. For example, OCM 656 might beconfigured to provide graphics 35 and/or 37 for display within a webpage.

In one embodiment, OCM 656 may further enable the provided graphicand/or advertisement to be digitally signed. OCM 656 may employ any of avariety of software useable to generate digital signatures. OCM 656 mayfurther provide various monitoring mechanisms useable to monitor theprovided graphic and/or advertisement for changes, malware, and/or othersecurity concerns. In one embodiment, if an unauthorized modification isdetected, OCM 656 may be configured to automatically send a message to areviewer, advertiser, and/or other party indicating that an unauthorizedmodification has been detected.

In one embodiment, OCM 656 or ASM 655 may be configured to monitorclick-through data for an advertisement. In this manner, statisticalinformation may be obtained indicating whether the graphicalcertification information displayed with the advertisement might haveimpacted user actions. That is, by collecting click-through dataassociated with the advertisement, a determination may then be made aswhether a change in click-through data is detected based on a presenceof a certificate.

Reports may be provided to an advertiser that may include, but are notlimited to trend data indicating when the graphical certificationinformation displayed with an advertisement changed, and whether thechange resulted in a statistically significant change in monitoredclick-through rates. It is noted that other monitoring may also beperformed beyond merely click-through rates, including but not limited,for example, to purchases resulting from a click-through.

OCM 656 may also be configured to monitor for compliance by theadvertiser with information that might be displayed within theadditional graphic. In one embodiment, OCM 656 might automaticallycollect data from user surveys, user feedback, peer advertisers, or thelike, to determine whether the information displayed is still correct.OCM 656 may use other mechanisms beyond these however, to make suchdeterminations. In any event, if OCM 656 determines that the informationdisplayed is no longer correct, and/or that a contract for displaying ofsuch information has expired, OCM 656 might automatically contact theadvertiser and indicate such non-compliance, contract expiration, or thelike.

Generalized Operation

The operation of certain aspects of the present invention will now bedescribed with respect to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of apossible flow diagram useable for producing for display on web page anadvertisement modified with a review and/or certificate. The process ofFIG. 4 may be implemented within any of the graphic servers shown inFIGS. 2-3 (servers 75 and/or 77). However, the process may also beimplemented across multiple distinct servers, without departing from thescope of the invention. For example, in another embodiment, process mayalso be implemented within an advertisement server such as illustratedin FIG. 1. In addition, portions of the process may be deployedindependent of any server, or computing device per se.

In any event, as shown FIG. 4 depicts a process for process for areviewer and advertiser to work together to produce an advertisementmodified with a review and/or certificate graphic. Process 400 begins,after a start block, at block 480, where an advertiser initiates acontract with a reviewing party. Such actions may be performed usingvirtually any mechanisms for negotiating a contract, including online aswell as offline.

Moving to block 482, the reviewing party provides a review and/orcertificate of advertisement(s) and/or advertisers and/or web pagesand/or goods or services. Such reviews may include, without limit, thosediscussed above.

In any event, if the reviewing party determines that the advertisementis permitted to display the additional information, the reviewing partyprovides the information/certificate to the advertiser.

Flowing next, in one embodiment, to block 484 the advertiser adds thereview information and/or certificate to an advertisement. As notedabove, in another embodiment, a website coordinator, or other party maybe employed to add the additional information to the advertisement.Additionally, the advertisement and/or certificate may be digitallysigned. In one embodiment, the reviewer may provide the digitalsignature. In another embodiment, the advertiser may digitally sign theadvertisement and/or certificate.

The process then moves to block 486, where the advertiser distributesthe advertisement via virtually any advertising channel until reviewermandates review and/or certificate must be updated or until contractualterm expires. For example, in one embodiment, a script, applet, or othermechanism might be used to monitor for changes in the certificate, otherinformation, and advertisement. In one embodiment, changes might bedetected by monitoring a hash obtained from the digital signature. Ifthe hash is detected to have changed, a message might be sent to thereviewer and/or advertiser indicating that a change has been detected.The reviewer and/or advertiser may then conduct additional analysis todetermine whether the change results in non-compliance of displayedinformation. If so, the certificate may be revoked, or correctionsrequested. Failure to make corrections to the displayed material mightresult in the reviewer revoking the certificate.

Moreover, in one embodiment, the reviewer might automatically conductsurveys, request user feedback, or the like, to obtain information aboutthe displayed information. If the reviewer determines that the displayedinformation is no longer correct, the reviewer may request that it becorrected, revoke the certificate, and/or perform some other action. Inany event, process 400 may then exit after 486.

It should be noted, however, that the invention is not constrained tocommunications as described above. Thus, in one embodiment, the reviewermay work with the advertiser. That is, in one embodiment, the advertisermay be the one that contracts with a reviewing party to review theadvertisements, and the advertisements may then be modified with theadditional descriptions/certificates, or the like and distributed via anadvertiser's network and/or via any other mechanism, including throughan end publisher.

However, in another embodiment, the reviewer may also interact with apublisher of the advertisement. Thus, in another embodiment, thepublisher may contract with a reviewing party to review theadvertisement and/or links that may show up on the publisher's site. Thereviewer may then employ a system with a preemptively built database, orthe like, of advertisements and/or links, as well as to be able toquickly check new advertisements and/or links that may show up on thepublisher's site.

It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration, can be implementedby computer program instructions. These program instructions may beprovided to a processor to produce a machine, such that theinstructions, which execute on the processor, create means forimplementing the actions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Thecomputer program instructions may be executed by a processor to causeoperational steps to be performed by the processor to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions, which executeon the processor to provide steps for implementing the actions specifiedin the flowchart block or blocks. In one embodiment, at least some ofthe operational steps may be performed serially; however, the inventionis not so limited, and at least some steps may be performedconcurrently.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support combinationsof means for performing the specified actions, combinations of steps forperforming the specified actions and program instruction means forperforming the specified actions. It will also be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems, which perform the specified actions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The above specification, examples, and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network device, comprising: a transceiver forsending and receiving information over a network; and a processor thatis configured to execute instructions that perform actions, including:receiving a request for an audit associated with an advertisementcontaining a link to a destination media; performing the audit to:determine a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard,or rule; associating such compliance with a characteristic of thedestination media's trustworthy nature; based on a result of the audit,selectively binding a certificate to the advertisement, whereby thebinding indicates the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature ofthe destination media; enabling the advertisement and the boundcertificate to be transmitted to and displayed by a client computingdevice in conjunction with content served by a content server, such thatthe certificate provides an indication of the associated characteristicof trustworthy nature of the destination media; collecting statisticalinformation indicative of engagement by user computers with theadvertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that thedestination media is from a trustworthy source; generating trend datausing the collected statistical information indicative of engagement byuser computers with the advertisement and the presence of thecertificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthysource; and generating a trend data report using the trend data fortransmission to a recipient.
 2. The network device of claim 1, wherein:the destination media comprises a Web page; the audit comprises asurvey, opinion poll or business report; the determination of acompliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule,comprises a determination that the destination media has received arating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold; and thecertificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a companyadvertising a good or service.
 3. The network device of claim 1, whereinthe destination media comprises a Web page.
 4. The network device ofclaim 1, wherein the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or businessreport.
 5. The network device of claim 1, wherein the determination of acompliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule,comprises a determination that the destination media has received arating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold.
 6. Thenetwork device of claim 1, wherein the certificate conveys a ranking orrating associated with a company advertising a good or service.
 7. Thenetwork device of claim 1, wherein the client computing device comprisesa mobile telephone.
 8. The network device of claim 1, wherein theadvertisement and the bound certificate are configured to be displayedon the client computing device using an interface different than abrowser.
 9. The network device of claim 1, wherein the destination mediacomprises a game.
 10. A computer implemented method comprising:receiving at a computer system comprising hardware a request for anaudit associated with an advertisement containing a link to adestination media; performing, using the computer system, the audit to:determine a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard,or rule; associate such compliance with a characteristic of thedestination media's trustworthy nature; based on a result of the audit,selectively binding a certificate to the advertisement using thecomputer system, whereby the binding indicates the associatedcharacteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media; enablingthe bound certificate to be transmitted to and displayed by a clientcomputing device in conjunction with the advertisement and contentserved by a content server, such that the certificate provides anindication of the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of thedestination media; collecting, using the computer system, statisticalinformation indicative of engagement by user computers with theadvertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that thedestination media is from a trustworthy source; generating, using thecomputer system, trend data using the collected statistical informationindicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement andthe presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media isfrom a trustworthy source; and generating, using the computer system, atrend data report using the trend data for transmission to a recipient.11. The method of claim 10, wherein: the destination media comprises aWeb page; the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report;the determination of a compliance with at least one contractualcriteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that thedestination media has received a rating by a third party agencyexceeding a first threshold; and the certificate conveys a ranking orrating associated with a company advertising a good or service.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the destination media comprises a Web page.13. The method of claim 10, wherein the audit comprises a survey,opinion poll or business report.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein thedetermination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria,standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination mediahas received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a firstthreshold.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the certificate conveys aranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good orservice.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the client computing devicecomprises a mobile telephone.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein theadvertisement and the bound certificate are configured to be displayedon the client computing device using an interface different than abrowser.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the destination mediacomprises a game.
 19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingexecutable instructions that when executed by a system including atleast one computing device cause the system to perform operationscomprising: receive a request for an audit associated with anadvertisement containing a link to a destination media; perform theaudit to: determine a compliance with at least one contractual criteria,standard, or rule; associate such compliance with a characteristic ofthe destination media's trustworthy nature; based on a result of theaudit, selectively bind a certificate to the advertisement, whereby thebinding indicates the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature ofthe destination media; enable the advertisement and the boundcertificate to be transmitted to and displayed by a client computingdevice in conjunction with content served by a content server, such thatthe certificate provides an indication of the associated characteristicof trustworthy nature of the destination media; collect statisticalinformation indicative of engagement by user computers with theadvertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that thedestination media is from a trustworthy source; generate trend datausing the collected statistical information indicative of engagement byuser computers with the advertisement and the presence of thecertificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthysource; and generate a trend data report using the trend data fortransmission to a recipient.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim19, wherein: the destination media comprises a Web page; the auditcomprises a survey, opinion poll or business report; the determinationof a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, orrule, comprises a determination that the destination media has receiveda rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold; and thecertificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a companyadvertising a good or service.
 21. The computer-readable medium of claim19, wherein the destination media comprises a Web page.
 22. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the audit comprises asurvey, opinion poll or business report.
 23. The computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein the determination of a compliance with atleast one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises adetermination that the destination media has received a rating by athird party agency exceeding a first threshold.
 24. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the certificate conveys aranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good orservice.
 25. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein thecertificate is configured to be displayed on the client computing deviceusing an interface different than a browser.
 26. The computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein the destination media comprises a game.